The conviction was not the outcome Cosby or his high-powered defense team wanted, but it was an answer to the question that has haunted America since October 2014: Is "America's Dad" really a serial sexual predator who drugged and molested Andrea Constand at his nearby home in January 2004?

The verdict came on the second day of deliberations, and after it was delivered, Judge Steven O'Neill thanked jurors for their service, then warned them about interactions with the media.

"You have sacrificed much, but you have sacrificed in the service of justice and in this country and this commonwealth and this county," O'Neill said. "That is important."

After the jury left the room, O'Neill said the $1 million bail Cosby posted was sufficient for him to remain free until sentencing. That set off a heated argument with Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, who wanted Cosby's bail revoked as a possible flight risk.

At the retrial, the jury of seven men and five women voted unanimously that Cosby was guilty. Cosby, charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, could get 10 years in prison on each count. He has denied the charges, asserting that his sexual encounter with Constand was consensual and that he gave her only an over-the-counter allergy medication.

For Cosby, 80 and in failing health, any prison term is probably a death sentence.

Cosby did not address the media and left the courthouse an hour after the verdict was delivered. His spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, declined to issue a statement. His lead defense attorney, Tom Mesereau, indicated there would be an appeal.

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby reacts while being notified a verdict was in in his sexual assault retrial on April, 26, 2018.(Photo: MARK MAKELA/AP)

At a news conference a few hours later, Steele said: "Today, we're finally in a place to say that justice was done. ... We now know who the real Bill Cosby is."

He cited Cosby's courtroom outburst during the bail argument after the verdict, when Cosby stood up and angrily shouted vulgarities at Steele. "Everybody got a brief view of who he really is," Steele said. "He was an actor for a long time. It was an act."

Steele said the trials had "revealed a man who spent decades preying on women, drugging and sexually assaulting them, who evaded this moment for far too long and used his network of supporters to help him conceal his crimes."

He praised Constand for her "courage and resilience" in the face of attacks on her and her family, calling her "inspiring to all of us."

Andrea Constand, the main accuser in the Bill Cosby sexual-assault retrial, with Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele after Cosby was convicted in Norristown, Pa., on April 26, 2018(Photo: DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

He declined to discuss whether some or all of Cosby's other accusers, including the five who testified at the retrial, would be allowed to testify at the sentencing.

"Victims should have a voice in this," he said. "This area is somewhat grey in Pennsylvania law."

Constand did not speak but her attorney, Dolores Troiani, did, saying she, Troiani, was "so happy" about the outcome of the case. (Troiani represented Constand in her 2005 civil suit against Cosby, which was settled in 2006 after Cosby paid her $3.4 million.)

"Although justice was delayed, it was not denied," Troiani said, praising Constand for her "courage, calm, her demeanor" in pursuing a criminal case in the face of enormous pressure.

Advocates for rape victims and lawyers who represent many of the five dozen women who have accused Cosby of being a serial rapist celebrated, saying it was a win for sexual assault victims everywhere.

Gloria Allred, the women's rights lawyer who represents half of the Cosby accusers, was exultant as she addressed media cameras outside the courthouse, surrounded by some of her clients who had testified or attended the trial.

"Guilty, guilty, guilty!" Allred exclaimed.

"We are vindicated, we are validated," declared accuser Victoria Valentino.

"This is a victory not just for Andrea Constand, whom I consider to be the Joan of Arc on the war on rape," said accuser Lili Bernard. "It is not just a victory for the 62 of us publicly known Cosby survivors. ... It is also a victory for womanhood. And it is a victory for all sexual assault survivors, female and male."

Among the groups applauding the verdict were the National Organization for Women, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, UltraViolet and RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

“The Cosby verdict is a long-awaited and symbolic victory for many survivors of sexual violence," said Kristen Houser, spokeswoman for the NSVRC in Washington. "It brings hope that justice can be served when victims are finally ready to enter the court system, that it is possible for the truth to be heard, even if it is years after the assault."

Judge Steven O'Neill, who presided over the Bill Cosby sexual-assault retrial, just before the jury delivered the guilty verdict on April, 26, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.(Photo: MARK MAKELA/AP)

But the jury, which was sequestered at a local hotel, saw and heard none of this. They were instructed not to let outside influences, such as the Me Too movement to call out sexual harassment and assault, creep into the jury room.

"The pressure to be politically correct coming from the Me Too movement should not but unfortunately could influence the jury," says California trial attorney Lara Yeretsian, who followed the case.

Cosby could appeal the conviction, arguing that the jury was biased, "but it’s not easy to show the jury was tainted," Yeretsian says. "You have to get inside their minds to determine bias or hope they make statements to others to that effect."

Stuart Slotnick, a New York criminal defense lawyer who has been following the case for more than two years, said he believes there are strong grounds for appeal, based on Judge O'Neill's still unexplained change of mind to allow five other accusers of Cosby to testify at the retrial.

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Bill Cosby accuser Andrea Constand (center) reacts after the guilty on all counts verdict was delivered in Cosby's sexual-assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on April 26, 2018. Sixty women have accused the 80-year-old entertainer of sexual assault. MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES

Bill Cosby walks out of the Montgomery County Courthouse after the jury found him guilty on all three counts of molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Andrea Constand (left), the main accuser in the Bill Cosby sexual-assault retrial, looks on as Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele speaks to reporters after the retrial of Cosby's sexual assault case. DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

After hearing the jury had reached a verdict in his aggravated indecent assault retrial, Bill Cosby re-enters the courtroom to learn his fate. The jury, which began deliberations Wednesday, found him guilty on all three counts of molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES

Comedian Bill Cosby (right) is escorted to the courtroom by spokesman Andrew Wyatt as they arrive for jury deliberations in Cosby's sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. MARK MAKELA/AP POOL PHOTO

Cosby accusers Lili Bernard (left) and Caroline Heldman pose for a selfie while waiting in line before the courtroom opens at the Montgomery County Courthouse for Day 14 of Cosby's sexual assault retrial. Mark Makela, Getty Images

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"As we know from the first trial, the end of deliberations does not mean it’s over," Slotnick said. "Was it overly prejudicial to allow five accusers to testify about uncharged crimes, thereby affecting the jury’s verdict unfairly? Clearly, one complainant and one additional accuser were not enough to procure a conviction at the first trial, and by allowing five additional women to testify, the judge really put his thumb on the scale.

"It's possible the jurors will say they thought he was guilty because where there's smoke, there's fire, and there was a lot of smoke" at the retrial, Slotnick said.

In a classic he-said-she-said case, the jury would have been influenced by the other women who testified, says Los Angeles attorney Priya Sopori.

"If you put the testimonial evidence on a scale, that’s a great deal of weight, which acts to bolster Ms. Constand’s credibility and corroborate the serial nature of the defendant’s modus operandi," Sopori said.

As for the kind of sentence Cosby could get, University at Buffalo law professor Michael Boucai said that judges weigh "mitigating" and "aggravating" factors in doling out sentences.

"Some would say that Cosby's advanced age counsels in favor of leniency; others might see decades of comfortable impunity," Boucai said. "Some might want to see Cosby treated more leniently in light of all the good he has done in other facets of his life; others may bristle at what they see as a particularly ugly hypocrisy."

Steele, who failed to persuade the first jury, had a difficult job: A 14-year-old alleged sex crime. No physical or forensic evidence. An accuser who waited a year to report it. An acclaimed defendant whose iconic status garnered him support.

And there was the dauntingly high burden-of-proof standard that every prosecutor must meet in a felony case in the American criminal justice system: Persuade 12 jurors "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the defendant is guilty and vote unanimously to convict. All it takes is one doubtful juror to change the outcome.

Cosby was charged in December 2015, just weeks before Pennsylvania's unusually lengthy statute of limitations on sex crimes was about to expire. In the previous year, Cosby was accused by 60 women who said Cosby drugged and assaulted them in episodes dating back to the mid-1960s.

All of those accusations were too old to prosecute, except Constand's. She did not report what she said happened to her until a year later, in 2005, but the then-district attorney said there was insufficient evidence to charge Cosby. So Constand filed a civil suit against him instead. Cosby was deposed for the suit, which was settled and sealed in 2006; as Steele revealed in his opening statement at the retrial, Cosby paid Constand $3.4 million to settle their case.

Bill Cosby walks out after his guilty verdict was announced at the Montgomery County Courthouse April 26, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. Cosby was found guilty on all accounts after a former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

Comedian Bill Cosby watches as a protester is tackled by sheriff's officers as Cosby arrives for the first day his second sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. April 9, 2018. DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Sonia Ossorio, center, president of the National Organization for Women of New York, leads a group in protest, after Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse, April 9, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. COREY PERRINE/AP

Legal documents are wheeled into the Montgomery County Courthouse pre-dawn before the first day of the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 9, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. A former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES

Kathleen Bliss, center, lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Bill Cosby, center, walks back to courtroom C with spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, left, from a break during his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill walks to courtroom C before Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Tom Mesereau, center, lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, speaks to other legal defense members as they walk back to courtroom C after a break in the Cosby sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Protestors with Black Women's Blueprint demonstrate outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during jury selection in the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. A former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. Mark Makela, Getty Images

Protestors with Black Women's Blueprint create a mosaic while demonstrating outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during jury selection in the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. A former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. Mark Makela, Getty Images

Actor/ stand-up comedian Bill Cosby arrives to the first day of Jury Selection for his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. Gilbert Carrasquillo, WireImage

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, right, arrives for jury selection in the sexual assault retrial for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on April 2, 2018. Pool Photo by Brendan McDermid

Prosecution documents in the case against actor and comedian Bill Cosby are wheeled into the courtroom for a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018. Cosby's lawyers and prosecutors will argue over the number of his accusers allowed to testify at his sexual assault retrial. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby boards the elevator after a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby returns to the courtroom for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018.
Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, 2nd from left, walks past journalists filing stories during a recess in the pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., March 29, 2018. Cosby's lawyers and prosecutors will argue over the number of his accusers allowed to testify at his sexual assault retrial. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, left, leaves the courtroom with his local attorney Lane Vines during a recess of a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on March 29, 2018.
Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby departs the Montgomery County Courthouse on March 6, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Cosby's lawyers and prosecutors will argued over the number of his accusers allowed to testify at his sexual assault retrial. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse on June 17, 2017 in Norristown, Pa., after a mistrial was declared in his sexual assault case, 11 days after the trial began and following 52 hours of deliberations. Kevin Hagen/Getty Images

Bill Cosby after a mistrial in his sexual assault case, with his lawyers Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa, and his publicist Andrew Wyatt, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. Matt Rourke, AP

Bill Cosby gives a thumbs-up to supporters as he gets in his car outside the courthouse on Day 5 of his sexual assault trial, after the prosecution rested its case, on June 9, 2017 in Norristown, Pa. The defense will present its case starting June 12. Matt Rourke, AP

Bill Cosby arrived for the first day of his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on June 5, 2017. Take a look at some of the other key players at the trial. Matt Rourke, AP

In addition to his lawyers, bodyguards and assistants, Cosby arrived for the first day of his trial accompanied by Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his daughter Rudy Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show' and has defended him for two years. Matt Slocum, AP

Attorney Gloria Allred represents dozens of Cosby accusers, including a witness who testified at the trial that he drugged and assaulted her in 1996. Allred has been at the trial every day since Day 1, on June 5, 2017. Mark Makela

Some Cosby accusers are attending the trial even though they are not involved in the proceeding, including Therese Serignese, a nurse from Florida who has accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in a Las Vegas hotel in about 1975. She is now suing him in civil court. LUCAS JACKSON, AFP/Getty Images

Two other Bill Cosby accusers also are attending his trial: Lili Bernard, (L), who says Cosby drugged and raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in about 1975, and Victoria Valentino, who says Cosby drugged and raped her in 1970, outside the courtroom on Day 4 of the trial, June 8, 2017. EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ, AFP/Getty Images

Locked out of the courthouse, media cameras gathered outside to capture Bill Cosby arriving for the first day of his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., June 5, 2017. Matt Rourke, AP

The Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh where jury selection began in the Bill Cosby sex-assault trial. Lawyers will spend the week picking a dozen jurors and six alternates who will be taken to suburban Philadelphia and sequestered for the duration of the trial starting June 5. DON EMMERT, AFP/Getty Images

The man prosecuting Bill Cosby, District Attorney Kevin Steele of Montgomery County, arrives at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh for jury selection on May 22, 2017. DON EMMERT, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby has spent the last 15 months arriving for and leaving pretrial hearings for his pending sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on April 3, 2017. CLEM MURRAY, AFP/Getty Images

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, arriving for a Bill Cosby pre-trial hearing in Norristown, Pa., represents dozens of women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault, including some of 13 accusers who may get to testify to his alleged "prior bad acts" at his forthcoming trial on criminal charges. KENA BETANCUR, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby seemed to be in a good mood, laughing as he arrived at the Montgomery County Courthouse for another hearing on the aggravated indecent assault charges against him, on Sept. 6, 2016. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Accompanied by lawyers and bodyguards, Bill Cosby arrives for the latest pretrial hearing in his criminal sex-assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., July 7, 2016. Cosby is appealing a decision to send the case to trial before his lawyers can question the accuser under oath. Matt Rourke, AP

Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee now living in Canada. Constand, here in December 2015, did not testify in person at the preliminary hearing for Cosby on May 24. Marta Iwanek, AP

Starting in the fall of 2014, comedian Bill Cosby, 78, has been accused by about 60 women of drugging and sexuallyassaultingthem in episodesdating as far back as the 1960s. On Dec. 30, 2015, he was officially charged in Norristown, Pa., for an alleged assault in 2004. KENA BETANCUR, AFP/Getty Images

Cosby arrives on Dec. 30, 2015, to the Court House in Elkins Park, Pa. to face charges of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby was arraigned over an incident that took place in 2004 -- the first criminal charge filed against the actor after dozens of women claimed abuse. Kena Betancur, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby walks past the press upon arrival for his arraignment, Wednesday, in Elkins Park, Pa. Cosby was charged Wednesday with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home 12 years ago. Matt Rourke, AP

Bill Cosby leaves the Court House in Elkins Park, Pa. after a 10 minute arraignment on charges of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby pleaded not guilty,posted $1 million bail, and turned over his passport as a condition for being released on bail. Kena Betancur, AFP/Getty Images

"The evidence is strong and sufficient enough to proceed with the charges," Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at a news conference. The decision by his boss, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, reverses a decision by her predecessor who had ruled that there was not enough evidence to warrant an arrest. AP

At his post-verdict press conference, Steele declined to answer a question about whether he would pursue Jackson on perjury charges.

Kathleen Bliss and Tom Mesereau, lawyers for Bill Cosby, arrive for the second day of jury deliberations in the retrial of Cosby's sexual assault case in Norristown, Pa., on April 26, 2018.(Photo: DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Much was made in the media and outside the courtroom about the fact the retrial took place in a dramatically different environment from last year — after the dawning of the Me Too movement that began in October 2017.

What happens outside a criminal courtroom is supposed to stay outside. But human nature is what it is, says Yeretsian. Few jurors could escape the cultural revolution of the Me Too movement, she says.

"Jurors don’t live in a vacuum, and they could be responding sympathetically to the movement, even on a subconscious level," Yeretsian says. "The diligent juror will do his or her best to only rely on the evidence presented in the courtroom. ... Still, the movement could sneak into the deliberations room when determining the credibility of Constand and the prior bad acts witnesses."

Now, experts predict, the verdict will be a boost to the accusers who are suing Cosby in civil court, where the burden of proof is much lower than in criminal. It will also be a boost to the Me Too movement, giving new hope for accusers who want to pursue criminal charges against alleged assailants.

“This case sets the tone for the rest of the Me Too movement, which means more victims will feel more comfortable coming forward, despite the years that have passed since the alleged sexual assault,” says Los Angeles civil attorney Angela Reddock-Wright, an expert on the Me Too movement and on sexual harassment cases.